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| Home » Other Hindu Gods and Goddesses » Durga |
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Durga |
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Durga is the one of the most important Goddess of Hindu religion. The name Durga in Sanskrit means “the invincible” or “the inaccessible.” The image of Goddess Durga presents a warrior woman with ten arms. She is shown to be carrying various types of weapons and is also riding on a tiger or a lion. Durga is the personification of creative energy and strength or Shakti. The term “Shakti” presents the warrior aspect of Durga. She is also considered as the mother of Saraswati, Lakshmi, Ganesha and Kartikeya. She is also the wife or consort of Lord Shiva.
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According to the legends, the form of Durga was created to fight demons. As the story goes, Rambha, the father of demons, fell in love with a water buffalo. Mahish Asur was born out of their union. He was able to change himself between buffalo and human form because of his unusual parentage. Through his penance and intense prayers he received a boon from Lord Brahma that no man or God will be able to defeat him. Immediately after that he started torturing the human beings who lived on earth. He even did not spare the Gods. This enraged the Gods and together they formed a goddess with their energy. The Goddess was given the name Durga.
The Goddess possess a bright image. She has three eyes which have a lotus like shape, long hair with beautiful curls, glowing skin and a crescent shaped moon on her forehead. Her different body parts are created by various Gods. Her face was created by Shiva, three eyes by Agni, torso by Indra, teeth by Brahma, thighs and knees by Varuna. After her creation all the Gods of the heaven gave her their most weapons. Lord Vishni gave his discus, Indra gave his thunderbolt, Rudra gave his trident, Kuner his gada and Himalaya gifted her fierce lion. Finally she killed Mahishasur with her trident.
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The worship of Durga :
Durga is worshipped in various forms. She is variously known as Parvati, Gauri, Uma, Kali, Chandi, Bhairavi and Jagmata. Durga Puja is the biggest annual festival which is celebrated in the state of West Bengal in India. The festival is also celebrated in several of India, especially in eastern part of India. It is a nine day celebration. The victory of the Goddess over the demon is celebrated as Vijaya Dashami. In northern India this day is referred as Dussehra. It is called Dashain in Nepal.
The actual worship of the Goddess is carried out during the nine days that precedes Vijaya Dashami in North India. The tenth day also signifies the victory of Rama over Ravana. Massive straw effigies of Ravana are also burnt during Dusshera. In West Bengal, Durga is worshipped for five days. In Gujarat the last day is celebrated by performing Garba dance.
Famous Durga Temples in India :
Some of the prominent Durga temples are Shri Vaishno Devi Temple of Jammu and Kashmir, Shri Siddha Peeth Durga Devi Temple of Varanasi, DurgaKund Temple in Varanasi, Bhairabi Devalaya in Assam and many others. |
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